Broken Bear: Bluff Bears, #3

By Amelia Jade

Tanner Bryant, bear shifter and small-business owner, has come to accept that he might never find his mate. 

Although he's only in his mid-thirties, none of the women he has come across can hold a candle to his own thirst for life. That is, until he meets Alyssa Williams, the curvy, no-nonsense Kodiak bear shifter with a temper to rival his own. 

Exiled from her former home, Alyssa is slow to trust and quick to judge. Now if he can just convince her that he isn't crazy when he says they're fated, Tanner might stand a chance. 

Despite proving he can hold his own when Bear Bluffs is attacked by unknown shifters, Tanner will need to show his softer, gentler side if he hopes to claim Alyssa for his own. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amelia Jade
• Release date: Oct 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386376590

Book preview

Broken Bear

A Paranormal

Shapeshifter Romance

By Amelia Jade

Broken Bear

Copyright © 2015 by Amelia Jade

First Electronic Publication: August 2015

Amelia Jade

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the authors permission.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

All sexual activities depicted occur between consenting characters 18 years or older who are not blood related.

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Broken Bear

Chapter One

Tanner

Lightning flashed across the sky, lighting up the clouds around them in an awe-inspiring display of power. Moments later the crack and rumble of the shockwave washed over the vehicle, echoing in the silence as the three men focused on the road. The wipers flicked back and forth, dumping torrents of water off the side of the windshield in a futile effort. The constant impact of raindrops left a permanent layer of liquid diffusing the view of the road.

I can barely see a thing through this. The voice came from the passenger seat to his right.

I know, me neither. If we can't, though, it definitely stands to reason that the person driving that car can't either.

Tanner Bryant was more concerned for the safety of the people in the medium-sized sedan driving ahead of him. He, Dylan in the passenger seat, and Devon in the backseat were ensconced within the large Bluff Power hydro truck. There was a lot more between them and danger. The storm outside was one of the worst he had seen in some time, even after having lived in Bear Bluffs for the better part of a decade, where furious storms were a common theme.

Slowing his speed, he backed off, leaving even more room between him and the car in front. If things went sour, they would do so in a hurry and Tanner wanted to ensure he had plenty of time to react. His knuckles tightened around the wheel at another crack of thunder;he held his breath for a moment before slowly letting it out with a soft whoosh of air. There was entirely too much distance between them and home for his liking.

Trees lined the sides of two-lane road, trunks standing thick and tall as they towered over the travelers. Despite their magnificent presence, they did very little to block the howling wind that whipped down the road like it was a causeway. Tanner couldn't help but marvel at the conditions outside. Just a scant few hours ago the sun had been out, beating down upon his neck as he worked high in a tree. The tree had overgrown the power line, and his company was brought in to clear the issue. With the way the weather was developing, it looked like his team had brought it down just in time.

Oh shit! Dylan exclaimed loudly as lightning flashed ahead, striking a tree on the side of the road with explosive force.

Tanner had already seen it, however, and slammed on the brakes. He watched in horror as the lightning-weakened tree toppled over in apparent slow-motion, blocking the road ahead. The sedan travelling ahead of them wrenched to the side, and Tanner watched in horror as a thick branch slammed down onto the roof of the car.

Then he had to pay attention to his own problems. The slippery road was causing the truck to slide off the road and into the mud-soaked ditch. The occupants bounced around viciously, but as they came to a stop, a quick look told him they were all in one piece.

Devon, on the phone, now. Call Calan at the Fire Department and tell him to get out here. Give him the details. Dylan, you're with me, he growled, taking charge of the situation without a delay.

The two of them rushed toward the car through the blinding rain, intent on doing whatever they could to help the occupants. Growing up, Tanner had never had anyone who would be there for him. Now, when someone needed his help, he promised himself he would be there. His long, powerful legs churned as the thought burned inside his head, pushing himself ahead of Dylan as he leapt over an outstretched branch before half-ducking, half-sliding underneath another one. The car was completely entangled within the tree, and he feared the worst for anyone in the passenger seat, which was completely crumpled by a bend in the branch that had struck it.

There's nobody on this side, Dylan yelled over the howling wind and driving rain. Tanner slid to a stop next to the driver's side, peering through the smashed window to look at the driver. She looked dazed, but was rapidly coming to her senses. When she looked over at him, Tanner sucked in a breath.

Staring back at him were the most beautiful hazel eyes he had ever seen. Flakes of orange ringed the pupil, adding a mysterious depth to them that sucked him in. He longed to peer into them for hours on end, the fascination never-ending. It wasn't until her eyes narrowed that he realized she was trying to say something.

I'm sorry, are you okay?

Yes, I'm fine. Now, can you help me get out of here? the woman said, her arms straining as she pulled on the door handle and pushed out with all of her strength. Smashing the remnants of the window away, Tanner clamped his massive hands down on the door and pulled from his side, adding all of his incredible strength.

The door didn't move.

Can you climb out the window? he asked, noting for the first time the size of the woman trapped in the car. She was no dainty elf, but instead was much larger and she had some rather luscious curves. He frowned at the way his mind was analyzing her. She needed his help, not approval as his mate.

Wait? WHAT?!

His bear was growling, beginning to get restless as he took in more and more of this beautiful stranger. Her long brown hair was thrashing about as she grew frantic, trying to open the door. She couldn't remove her legs from the steering well without ramming her knees into the door, so she was effectively trapped by the crushed metal.

I need to get out of here! she said, slamming her hands into the door, once again to no effect. The frame was too warped for the door to open. They would have to wait for Calan to get here with his tools to cut her out. In the meantime, Tanner knew he needed to keep her calm.

Hey, it's going to be okay, he said loudly over the storm so that she could hear him, doing his best to sound calm and collected.

Like hell it is! came the reply, followed by another shoulder slam into the door. The trapped woman simply rebounded off of it, rubbing her shoulder where it had made contact with the unmoving metal.

The Fire Department is on its way. They should be here in fifteen, maybe twenty minutes, he told her, speaking slowly, trying to occupy her attention so that it would focus on him, not the situation. Each time she looked into his eyes as he talked, she immediately looked away. A small flush crept over Tanner's cheeks as it became obvious she didn't want him staring at her.

He couldn't help it; she was beautiful beyond words. His bear had already decided that she was to be his mate, something that he had come to think would never happen. The lonely life had seemed set in stone for Tanner until just a few minutes ago, so to believe that this woman here was his mate was a little far-fetched. Fated mates were the stuff of fairy tales and old wives' tales. No shifter that he knew believed in such mumbo-jumbo.

And yet...

She looked up at him once again, this time their eyes meeting and holding each other for a long moment. He thought, deep down, that he saw something, an answering look. Just for a moment then, if it had even been there at all, it was gone as she frowned at him once more.

Do you have to look at me like that? she snapped.

Sorry, he mumbled, standing up from his crouch next to her window. He leaned against the side of the car, waiting for Calan and contemplating what had just happened.

***

Eventually Calan arrived on the other side of the tree, hopping out of the engine along with Sam, another of Bear Bluffs' firefighters. It was just the two of them tonight, the others either back at the station or on another call. It didn't matter; Calan was already unpacking a large set of metal cutters. They would make short work of the car and have her out of there in no time.

Fire Department's here, he said, leaning over to poke his head into the window. The woman inside had mostly ignored him while they waited, not even offering her name.

I can see that, she said dryly, the flashing red of the lights easily visible on the other side of the tree, the colors diffused by the water in the air as the rain continued to fall heavily.

Okay, he said with a sigh of exasperation, wondering not for the first time what he had done to make her so irritated with him. He felt his own temper, loosely held in check at the best of times, threatening to awaken.

Now that he thought of it, actually, Tanner was surprised how calm he had been throughout the whole thing. Normally he would have lost his